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Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus was a carnivorous dinosaur that lived in Africa during the Cretaceous period. The most notable feature of Spinosaurus was the 6-foot sail on its back, much like the spine on ''Dimetrodon''. Spinosaurus is believed to have been a fair swimmer due to its skull and habitat; paleontologists believe it swam much like how a modern-day crocodile or alligator does. Discovery In 1912, a German paleontological expedition led by Ernst Stromer discovered the remains of s everal new Late Cretaceous dinosaurs in Egypt. Spinosaurus, a large theropod, was one of the new dinosaurs. However, in WWII the first spinosaurus skeleton was destroyed. General Description Spinosaurus ''grew over 13.3 meters (50 ft.) long. It got its name, which means "spiny lizard," because of the tall spines on its vertebrae (bones of the spine). Some spines reached a height of 6-10 2-3m feet!; They formed a sail along the animal's back much like those of the Permian mammal-like reptile ''Dimetrodon.The sail may have been a thermal regulator, releasing heat on hot days and absorbing heat on colder days. It also may have been used as a display to attract members of its own species and intimidate other species.Spinosaurus was 60 ft 20m,15-45ft tall 4-13 m, was 9-19 tons 18,000-38,000 lbs,had 6-10 ft spines 2-3m,5-13 inch teeth 14-33 cm 1ft,4-6m 13-20 ft tall at hips,13-20 ft at shoulder 4-6m and a 5-10 ft skull 1-3m. Even though the skeleton is incomplete, Spinosaurus shows several other interesting features. It was a long theropod. The teeth are different from other theropod teeth because they were conical, and the serrations (the cutting ridges along the sides) were very small. These tooth features, along with the shape of the skull bones, show that Spinosaurus is similar to Baryonyx. They may both belong in the family Spinosauridae. Spinosaurus is believed to have eaten fish, but there has been controversy about a dinosaur of that size relying on just fish. It is more likely that it preyed upon land animals and fish. The original skeleton of this theropod was destroyed during the course of World War II. However, a piece of a skull bone belonging to another Spinosaurus was found on a shelf in a German museum. It is most likely that another expedition to Egypt would uncover more skeletons so that more can be learned about Spinosaurus. In the media Spinosaurus had a very large role in the third Jurassic Park movie, the only Jurassic Park film not based on a Michael Crichton book. It was seen fighting a Tyrannosaurus rex, though this fight could not have occured in the specified time period as the two dinosaurs lived During different times of the cretaceou s period. During the battle, the Spinosaurus locks its jaws onto the neck of the Tyrannosaurus then uses its arms to dislocate the neck causing the Tyrannosaurus to die. Earlier in the fight, the Tyrannosaurus bites down onto the neck of the Spinosaurus. This would have killed the Spinosaurus because of Tyrannosaurus's ability to use its jaws to crush bone. Ever since Jurassic Park III was released, Spinosaurus has become a very popular dinosaur in pop culture. Spinosaurus also appears in the video games Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis and Zoo Tycoon. It is also popular as a player made animal in "Zoo Tycoon 2". Category:Dinosaurs Category:Carnivores Category:Spinosaurids Category:Early Cretaceous dinosaurs Category:Large Carnivores Category:Dinosaur Train Field Guide Category:Dinosaurs of Africa